San Antonio moving on US281 toll project - MPO votes 12/4 for tolls

The local metro plan organization in San Antonio voted 12 to 4 (1 abstaining) Monday (Dec 3) to approve construction of the first toll project in Texas third city. Approved were the business terms for a toll upgrade of US281 and the use of state funds for the project. This is a major victory for mobility because a vociferous and fanatical anti-roads/anti-toll group has been active trying to stop everything.

San Antonio has about 1.7m people, ranking ahead of Austin and only behind the Dallas and Houston areas in population. It is about 30th ranking in the US.

3+3 lanes with frontage roads

The approved toll project extends 14km (8.7 miles) up US281 from Loop 1604 to the Bexar/Comal County line. It will be 3+3 mainline toll lanes with free frontage roads of 2 and 3 lanes alongside, Texas style. There will be six interchanges at which the frontage roads will face traffic signals while the tollway flies over. The toll lanes will have slip ramps to and from the frontage road lanes.

Toll collection will be all electronic, highway speed, no cash collected.

Approved by the local planning board is an opening 2012 toll rate of 17c/mile (11c/km) for cars and 46c/mile (28c/km) for 3 axle and more vehicles. Toll rates would rise annually by inflation.

The planning board also approved the use of Texas Mobility Funds for the project.

An earlier estimate by TxDOT has put the cost of the US281 work at $260m.

Most urgent portion of larger scheme

The project is the most urgent part of a larger project first developed by TxDOT and the subject of an aborted toll concession procurement. It was recently turned over to the control of the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (ARMA) the local public toll authority.

The ARMA hopes construction can begin in 2008.

TxDOT studied a toll system that extended the US281 toll lanes some 23km (14 miles) to SH46 (cost $208m) and also addition of four toll lanes to Loop 1604 for 29km (18 miles) between I-10 West and I-35 (cost $550m), together with major upgrades of the Lp1604/US281 interchange with direct connector ramps to convert it from the present 3 level interchange to a big 5 level. The interchange work there would cost some $360m.

Local priorities

Terry Brechtel, CEO of the ARMA toll authority told the MPO recently she sees different priorities from TxDOT. Before adding toll lanes to Lp1604 I-35 to I-10W she wants to extend Lp1604 counterclockwise from I-10W to SH151. This could start construction in 2009.

Third priority, she said is five of the most urgently needed direct connectors for the Lp1604/US281 interchange.

Fourth she would do toll lanes on Lp1604 from US281 west to I-10W. This about half of the work studied by TxDOT for Lp1604.

Another possible toll project is a radial SH16 between I-410 and Lp1604.

Lp1604 would be a real test of the viability of the Texas tolled lane additions concept because it is already an expressway with frontage roads in a 2F/2E/2E/2F format (F=frontage, E=expressway lanes).

The plan here is to widen the expressway from 4 to 8 lanes, and the two extra expressway lanes in each direction will be tolled so it will end up 2F/2E/2T/2T/2E/2F.

The reason for this extraordinary complexity of Lp1604 is that policy requires retaining the existing free capacity, and only allows tolling of additions to capacity. This will be quite a spread of pavement - 22m (72ft) each direction for the mainline comprising four travel lanes, two shoulder lanes and a 1.2m (4ft) painted buffer equipped with flexible delineator posts to separate the toll from the free lanes. Apparently there will be transition zones where vehicles can move between the two, because except for the big interchanges the toll lanes won't have any ramps of their own.

Maintaining existing free capacity

One disadvantage of driving in the free lanes will be that the toll traffic will have to weave across your lanes to use intermediate interchanges. That will create some friction that will slow the free lanes a bit. The other advantage of the toll lanes will be at the big interchanges where they will have direct connectors, while those not wanting to pay a toll will have to do the ole Texan thing of exiting by the slip ramp to the frontage road, stopping at the intersection and taking the turn at the signal to get onto the other expressway's frontage road and then slipping back onto the mainlanes again.

With a pair of free expressway lanes alongside the new pair of toll lanes, traffic and revenues in the toll lanes look questionable at least in the early years.

Two big interchanges to be rebuilt

Two expressway to expressway interchanges are planned by TxDOT to be extensively upgraded: - Lp1604/US281 and Lp1604/I-10W..

The first Lp1604/US281 IC is a classic old Texas 3-level with two sets of frontage roads coming together at a 4-point signalized intersection at grade. All expressway to expressway movements go off the mainline onto frontage roads through the signalized intersection to make their turns, then go back onto the mainlanes from the frontage road.

In the upgrade two extra levels will be built with eight expressway to expressway movements to be on direct connectors and four of these will be tolled. That will make it five levels. Turners who don't want to pay tolls on the interchange's director connectors will be able to continue to use the signalized intersection.

The Lp1604/I-10W is an old 2 level cloverleaf interchange with four loops and all the mainline weaving problems that design entails. Four direct connectors added here in place of the loops in the upgrade will be tolled.

For Alamo Regional Mobility Authority http://www.alamorma.org/

Here download the 31 page 2005 TxDOT study of a toll system on US281 and Loop 1604 for some fascinating details of the planning. Much of this planning may be incorporated in future ARMA projects, or as TxDOT projects, if TxDOT can find funding.

The state moratorium blocks private sector toll projects in San Antonio.

ADDITION: Alamo RMA has supplied this map of the status of their various projects. It includes a Wurzbach Parkway not mentioned here.

Download ARMA project map.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-12-03